The invention relates to a dispenser for media which may be at least partly solid or flowable, in forms such as liquid, pasty and/or gaseous. Preferably, the media are grainy or powdery and thus suitable as bulk media. The dispenser is held single-handedly and is simultaneously operated with the fingers of one hand. Thus, the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or similar media are expelled. Such media may be designed for application to the respiratory tract, that is, for nasal or oral administration.
The dispenser may be provided for a single discharge action or a single unidirectional operating stroke. Thus, return means for returning the dispenser from the end position to the initial or rest position may be omitted. The dispenser may also permit several actuating strokes in sequence, each restarting from a different position or the above-mentioned rest position.
For discharging minutely dosed medium quantities of as high as 30, 20, 15 or 12 mg and as low as 5 mg, highly compact dispensers suffice. Although the reservoir chamber containing the medium premeasured for a single discharge dose may be an elongated capsule or cup, it is, however, of advantage to shape it as a flat tray and/or spherically domed. Thus, the medium is flushed out of the open reservoir chamber by a second or conveying medium such as a liquid, gas or air. The dosing medium is thereby atomized in the second medium to achieve a uniform distribution and singling of the particles up to the exit from the medium outlet.
The cup depth of the reservoir chamber may be less than 7, 5 or 4 mm and more than 2 mm. Its largest diameter is less than 20, 15 and 10 mm and more than 3 or 6 mm or greater than the cup depth. The reservoir is replaceable after having been emptied of its contents. The chamber volume of the reservoir is filled only partly with medium to facilitate its loosening right from the start of discharge. The reservoir or magazine body may be dimensionally stable or flexibly bendable in the zones connecting to the rigid chamber. It is made in the form of a transparent or non-transparent or non-translucent blister having film-thin walls. Prior to discharge, the filled reservoir chamber is sealed to be pressure-tight and sterile. The closure is formed by an adhesively or hot-sealingly attached film of plastic, or a metal foil such as aluminum. The foil, which is planar, covers the chamber opening and sealingly adjoins the chamber body directly up to the bounds of the chamber opening as well as full-length about the circumference thereof. Thus, no medium can enter between chamber body and closure from the chamber. Reference is made to the German Patent Application 197 04 849, published Aug. 13, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,417, issued Oct. 12, 1999 and the German Laid-Open Document 195 02 725, laid open Aug. 1, 1996, including the features and effects described therein in the present invention.